Toronto Raptors: Fred VanVleet needs to prove he can be the PG of the future

After an impressive season last year where he solidified himself as an important piece of the Toronto Raptors off the bench, the 2019-20 campaign is an opportunity for Fred VanVleet to reach new levels

There is no doubting that Fred VanVleet put his name on the map last season as one of the best second unit point guards in the NBA. It helps when your team wins an NBA title; for the first time in franchise history.

But when it came to the big stage, the 25-year-old came through clutch for the Toronto Raptors, finishing second in Finals MVP voting behind his ex-teammate, and now LA Clipper, Kawhi Leonard. VanVleet was also a finalist for the sixth man of the year after his breakout season.

Now although his numbers weren’t mindblowing during the season with just 11 points a night and 4.8 assists, VanVleet was extremely instrumental deep in the playoffs. After the birth of his son midway through the Eastern Conference Finals against the Bucks, VanVleet went off, scoring in double digits in every game en route to an NBA title, while draining numerous shots from 3-point range.

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He also played extremely gritty, hard-nosed defense on Steph Curry in the Finals, making it very difficult for the Warriors star to get his game going from downtown.

The number of minutes he was playing per game late in the playoffs resembled that of a starting point guard. With Kyle Lowry heading into free agency after this season, the starting point guard job could be up for grabs and if VanVleet continues to improve, Nick Nurse won’t have to look any further than his own organization for his next franchise guard.

Consistency throughout the entire year

VanVleet’s usage has gone up each season since he made his NBA debut back in 2016, playing a career-high 27.5 minutes per contest last year. As the minutes have gone up, his numbers have also seen a jump. His 11 points per game in 2018-19 were a career-high as well, along with the assists (4.3 APG).

Due to numerous injuries throughout the season, VanVleet was in the starting lineup for 28 of Toronto’s games last season and did quite well in that role. When he was in the starting five, VanVleet flourished, averaging 13.9 points, 5.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds. As a reserve, he averaged just 8.6 points, 4.1 assists, and 2.1 boards per contest.

Early in the playoffs against the Magic, he put up 14 points in the series opener, then went 11 straight games with less than 10 points. In the entire series against the 76ers where Kawhi Leonard hit a historic buzzer-beater to advance to the Conference Finals, VanVleet was basically non-existent. He even had two games in the Philly series where he scored just one point and one other where he didn’t drain a single bucket.

As we know, after his son was born as I mentioned above, he got a new spark and once again became an important part of the title run. But if VanVleet is going to be the point guard of the future in Toronto, he can’t be going through spells of 11 contests where he barely scores.

That will come with maturity, of course, but heading into what will now be his fourth NBA season, the hope is that the former Wichita State Shocker can reach new heights and show all the makings as one of the Raptors most reliable players this season.

He’ll get opportunities this year

Injuries always happen and chances are, VanVleet will get numerous opportunities to be in the starting lineup this year. If he can show consistency and the ability to run the floor while putting up even better numbers this year than last, it could end up being very clear that he will be the point guard of the future in Toronto.

Given his drastic improvement over the last three seasons, don’t be surprised if Fred VanVleet puts up career-highs across the board once again in the 2019-20 campaign.